CityLab Daily: Do Police Have a Place at Pride?

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What We’re Following

It takes a Village: Fifty years ago, a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City sparked a confrontation between police and the bar’s gay patrons. That conflict turned into a riot that lasted six days, and it became a watershed moment in the movement for LGBTQ rights.

Today’s Pride Parades find their origins in that moment. On the first anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the first gay pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. They started small—just a few hundred people attended San Francisco’s march in 1970, for example. Now, with millions attending Pride Month celebrations in cities around the world, many police departments have sought to participate as a sign of support, and to have a police presence for security, given the massive crowds. But the fraught history between police and the LGBTQ community has cities and activists grappling with a tough question. Today on CityLab, Sarah Holder reports: Do Police Have a Place at Pride?